MOSCOW. Aug 6 (Interfax-AVN) - Eleven people are reported dead and seven others injured after a GAZ-66 vehicle hit a mine in Chechnya's mountainous Shatoi district, the district's authorities told Interfax on Tuesday.
All of those killed and wounded were servicemen of the military commandant's company recruited in Chechnya.
The vehicle is believed to have hit a mine planted by rebels.
A source in the Chechen Security Department told Interfax that the main theory is that the incident was a terrorist attack. The mine is believed to have been remote-controlled and was very powerful. A team led by General Sergei Babkin, the head of the Chechen Security Department, is working at the scene of the incident.
A representative of the Chechen Prosecutor's Office announced that a criminal case will most probably be opened on charges of murder and carrying out a terrorist attack. The charges will be finalized after investigators finish their work at the scene.
Chechen Security Council Secretary Rudnik Dudayev confirmed that a vehicle carrying servicemen from the local military commandant's office hit a mine and that eleven of them were killed and seven others were wounded and are in serious condition.
There were 33 servicemen traveling in the vehicle. The incident occurred near the military commandant's office when the servicemen were returning to their base.
Special services and law enforcement agencies immediately sent their representatives to the scene of the incident. Those killed and wounded are being taken to a military hospital.
The Shatoi district is generally considered one of the most tranquil since the anti-guerrilla operation was launched in Chechnya, Dudayev said, adding that neither terrorist attacks, nor attempts on the lives of local officials, policemen or church leaders have been registered there.
On Monday, rebels began spreading rumors that they would intensify their operations, which put the Chechen police forces on alert.
The command of the Combined Federal Forces and Chechen leader Akhmad Kadyrov, who is currently attending a conference of the regional branch of the United Russia party, have been informed of the incident, Dudayev said.